Chapter 1445

Mable was originally planning to lie down with Blair for a while until he fell asleep. Then, she would check on the children. Who would have thought it would turn out like this? After she stepped out of the bathroom and got changed. She noticed Blair sitting up in bed, staring at her with a snarky smile. “Quit smiling at me!” Mable blushed and became flustered. Blair gestured for her to approach. Mable shot him a glare but approached nonetheless. Blair gently took her hand and took his time kissing every single finger before stating sincerely, “Mabes, we’re a married couple. There’s no need to be shy about doing it.” He was right that Mable was very embarrassed. She wanted to find a hole to hide in. Still, she was very content. She withdrew her hand and helped Blair settle into the blankets before telling him, “Hurry up and get some rest. I’ll wake you up in forty minutes.” A forty-minute nap was plenty. She was worried Blair would have trouble sleeping at night if he napped longer than that. Blair obliged this time, but not before giving her another glance, “Aren’t you sleeping with me?” Mable flicked a look at him. She had been with him for more than half an hour. What more could he possibly want? “Sleep by yourself. I need to check on the kids.” With that, she got up and walked out of the bedroom. Blair stared at her figure from behind and grinned to himself. The children were used to taking afternoon naps as well. When Mable entered Lemon's room, the girl was asleep. So, Mable tucked her in and gently pecked a kiss on her forehead. Then, she went to Nicki’s room. She assumed that Nicki would also be napping at this hour, but when she opened the door and stepped inside, she saw Nicki sitting at her desk doing homework. Upon hearing the door, Nicki looked over her shoulder, marbly eyes sparkling. She greeted Mable with a hint of surprise, “Aunt Mabes.” Mable approached her with a smile, “Are you not napping?” Nicki smiled faintly. “I’m not tired.” Mable glanced at the book on the desk. It seemed like Nicki was doing mathematics homework. Nicki scratched at her scalp and grumbled, “I only scored eighty-two points in math. I need to put in more work so I can score higher.” Mable gently ruffled her hair. “Eighty-two points is wonderful. You don’t need to push yourself so hard. Learning is a gradual process. You can’t rush it.” Children should have the space and luxury to grow up happily and without stress. This was Mable’s doctrine, which was why she never put too much pressure on them as long as they did not fail their classes. Nicki lowered her head and muttered dully, “But Hubert scored full marks. He was the first one to hand in the paper, too.” He managed to finish the test papers in half of the allocated time. Nicki strived to get on his level and dreamed she would rank on the top of the school leaderboards right next to him. Mable smiled upon hearing this. So this was the reason… She was glad to see that Nicki was an avid learner and encouraged her, “Spike has been studying mathematics longer than you. You can always ask him for help if you need it.” Both Nicki and Spike would be entering the second grade in September this year. Spike had been learning since he was two years old. Rory and Adam had taught him well, and coupled with his naturally high intelligence, he would ace the exams even if he skipped a couple of grades ahead. Nicki nodded. Then, she recalled something Spike told her the last time she asked for help. “You can’t solve something so simple? What an idiot!” Spike had said it with such disdain. Although he ended up explaining the solution to Nicki, it did not make her feel better in the least. She was not stupid. She was simply not on his level, so she had to put in more work. With this in mind, she nodded sensibly. “I understand, Aunt Mabes. I will ask Hubert for help if I have any questions.” Mable chatted with Nicki a little longer before leaving the room. When she was about to leave, she happened to see Aunt Grace coming up with a platter of fruits. Aunt Grace smiled and remarked, “Madam, I figured I would give the young lady some fruits to eat to help her with her homework.”